08/14/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After much speculation, the Houston Rockets officially landed controversial forward Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
Reports have been circulating since July 29, but because of contract considerations, the teams were delayed in making the deal which also brings forward Patrick Ewing Jr. and guard Sean Singletary to the Rockets. The Kings receive guard Bobby Jackson, rookie forward Donte Greene and Houston's 2009 first-round draft pick in the deal.
Greene was the holdup in the trade because he was not permitted to be traded until a month after signing with Houston.
"From hearing Ron's recent statements, it's obvious that he has an immense desire to win," said Rockets owner Leslie Alexander. "We have a team of players who have that same immense desire and Ron will fit right in."
The 28-year-old Artest, a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1999, averaged 20.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 57 games for the Kings last season. He spent nearly three years in Sacramento after joining the Pacers in 2001-02.
It was during his time with the Pacers that Artest gained his reputation as a hard-nosed player, sometimes over the edge, though. The 2004 Defensive Player of the Year was at the center of the infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004 when he was a member of the Pacers. Artest ran into the crowd after being hit with a cup and started a melee that resulted in a year-long suspension.
Artest was arrested in March 2007 and was later sentenced to 20 days in jail stemming from the domestic violence charge over a dispute with his wife. He had the sentence reduced to 10 days in a work release program and he was also ordered to 100 hours of community service along with anger-management and fathering courses.
During his time with Chicago, Indiana and Sacramento, a span of 535 games, Artest has averaged 16 points and 5.1 rebounds.
The 35-year-old Jackson, who played for the Kings from 2000-05, is coming off a season in which he averaged 7.7 points. He started the year playing for the New Orleans Hornets before being traded to Houston.
During his career, Jackson, a former Sixth Man of the Year, has averaged 10 points since breaking into the NBA in 1997 with Denver. His most prolific years were in a Kings uniform.
Greene was selected 28th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the June 26 draft before his rights were traded to Houston that night. The 6-foot-9 Greene entered the draft after one season at Syracuse, where he led the team and ranked fourth in the Big East with 17.7 points per game. The athletic forward also grabbed 7.2 rebounds and blocked 1.6 shots per game en route to second team All-Big East honors.
<< Sounders FC sign American goalkeeper Keller
Kirkland, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Sounders FC signed American
goalkeeper Kasey Keller to a multi-year contract, the team announced on
Thursday.
"Kasey is arguably the top goalkeeper that the United States has
<< Western leader RSL inks Mathis
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake added veteran American
attacker Clint Mathis from Ergotelis FC of the Greek SuperLeague, the team
announced on Thursday.
"Mathis' veteran experience in both MLS and international a
<< Rapids nab defender Gibbs
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids took advantage of
their position in the Major League Soccer allocation table to sign American
defender Cory Gibbs, the team announced on Wednesday.
"Any time you can add a de
<< Seattle Sounders FC
Signed goalkeeper Kasey Keller to a multi-year contract.
Percival leaves game with injury >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays closer Troy Percival left
Thursday's game with the Oakland Athletics in the ninth inning with an
undisclosed injury.
Percival was injured after fielding a sacrifice bunt from Mark
Report: Patriots add S Lynch >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots have reportedly
signed John Lynch to a one-year, $1.5 million deal.
According to NFL.com, the nine-time Pro Bowl selection took a physical
Wednesday and will join a team
Heintz, Laird share Wyndham lead >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bob Heintz and Martin Laird both opened with
rounds of seven-under-par 63 Thursday to share the lead after the opening
round of the Wyndham Championship.
Tim Clark posted a six-under 64. He was joine
Ochoa leads Sorenstam by one at Canadian Open >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa fired a six-under 66
on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over world No. 2 Annika Sorenstam after
the first round of the Canadian Open.
Even though it's just Thursday, this could be
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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